Belle: The slave daughter and the Lord Chief Justice.

Belle by Paula Byrne is the true story behind the movie with the same name. Now I hadn't seen the movie before I picked up the book but the premise was interesting. The slave daughter and the Lord Chief Justice. After reading this however, it should have been called Mansfield Lord Chief Justice because it mostly felt like it was telling about his rulings and his life. Which yes, included Dido (Belle) and there's no doubt in my mind that as his niece, he thought about her often when making rulings and putting in effect laws that affected slave trade in high society England in the 1700’s.

There was little concrete about Dido Belle except the circumstances around which she was painted in a portrait with her white cousin Elizabeth. The real controversy with this painting is that she is painted equal to her cousin in a time when the fashion featured black people subserviently in such portraits.

From what is gathered Dido’s (Belle) life was very different from other mulatto ( mixed race) children of her time and that was greatly in part because of her uncle.

Paula Byrne writes mainly about the slave culture at the time. And just a warning it can be very graphic at times.  The book highlighted conditions of slave ships and the slave trade. Particularly, the objectification of African women as sexual objects who were also looked at as no more than property in the end. Paula paints such vivid imagery of the slave trade one almost can't believe that this was just some 300 years ago.

A case that caught my attention was the Zong Massacre. A horrific event where a slave ship captain was trying to file insurance for cargo lost while he was at sea. However this wasn’t  any cargo, this wasn’t animals or goods or even furniture. This was a slave ship and his cargo was African slaves. The captain claims that it didn't have enough water to make the journey and so it was forced to jettison part of its cargo to save the rest.  I had a difficult time reading through this case. Especially in light of recent news. Human life tossed aside so easily. The point the book points out is that this case wasn't tried for the murder of 132 humans but the insurance claim that the ship captain had on each life he tossed overboard.

Paula Bryne’s Belle was well written and informative, even if the facts about the main character were slim but hey records back then were not like Facebook today. The reader definitely feels drawn to Belle and realizes with every case ruling and every change in the laws that her uncle makes she was born into far better circumstances than other like her. And it was also the beginning of the abolitionist movement.

I did also watch the movie after reading the book and considering the artistic licences that had to be taken because the facts about belle were slim it was a good movie. It focuses largely on Belle and her making her way through high society England in the 1700’s and the laws that are taking place around her though her uncle. It highlights the Zong Massacre which was a defining case in the book but definitely one that would catch the Hollywood audience.  It was a good story stand alone. And as always never compare you book to the movie ( you’ll be disappointed)